BROADBAND COMMUNITIES is the leading source of information on digital and broadband technologies for buildings and communities. Our editorial aims to accelerate the deployment of Fiber-To-The-Home and Fiber-To-The-Premises.
Issue link: https://bbcmag.epubxp.com/i/138991
Summit Coverage MDU Residents Crave Fiber – If They Know About It BroadBand Communities' exclusive, detailed survey, conducted by RVA LLC, shows that MDU residents who use fber to the home fnd its advantages compelling. However, only a third of broadband-connected MDU residents are aware of FTTH. By Steven S. Ross / Broadband Communities R esidents of multifamily dwellings crave fber once they experience it, said market researcher Michael Render of RVA LLC in a presentation at the BroadBand Communities Summit. However, only 37 percent of residents Render surveyed in March 2013 in an exclusive study commissioned by BroadBand Communities were familiar with the terms "FTTH" or "fber to the home." Almost all respondents knew such terms as "cable modem" and "DSL." Even the relatively new term "gigabit network" is almost as well known as "FTTH." (Tough most gigabit networks are FTTH, not all are.) Desire for fber was striking among those in the know. FTTH subscribers, by margins typically around two to one over wireless, DSL and cable modem, professed themselves "very satisfed" with FTTH with regard to download and upload speed, customer service, service uptime and speed consistency. For video quality, the margins were almost as high, with FTTH gaining the edge in every category: video on demand, number of standard and highdefnition channels and HD picture quality. ADVANTAGES FOR MDU OWNERS AND MANAGERS Satisfaction with FTTH translates directly into attitudes that afect property values. For instance, 71 percent of residents in an FTTH May/June 2013 building were likely to be satisfed with their homes overall, compared with 65 percent of users of other types of broadband. As a result, only 13 percent of FTTH users said they were "very likely" to move from their current dwellings in the next few months. In contrast, 18 percent of users of other broadband technologies said they were likely to move. High bandwidth is important to all rental segments, and its importance increases as the rent rises except at the very highest rents. Almost half the families paying between $200 and $500 a month in rent said they want "higher-than-average" bandwidth. Tis rose to 74 percent of those paying $1,501 to $2,000 monthly rent. Only those paying $3,000 and above were less concerned with bandwidth than their poorer neighbors. Even so, 44 percent in this group (typically older or too busy to watch TV) said they want more bandwidth. Renters perceived an added value of more than 15 percent for FTTH, translating into $152 a month extra they would be willing to pay for a $1,000 apartment. Owners saw an increase of $4,487 on average for a $200,000 apartment, which translates into a value increase of only about 2 percent. Render hypothesized that FTTH might add more to rental value than to sales value because renters sign short-term leases and thus think about short time horizons – that is, what a building ofers currently. Owners | www.broadbandcommunities.com | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | 63